Your Guide to the Best Documentaries of 2012 as Nominated by the Cinema Eye Honors

The Imposter

Nominated for Outstanding Achievements in Nonfiction Filmmaking, Production (Dimitri Doganis), Cinematography (Erik Alexander Wilson and Lynda Hall) and Original Music Score (Anna Nikitin) and the Audience Choice Prize.

Kate reviewed at Sundance: “Sometime around the halfway mark of Bart Layton‘s The Imposter, I became aware of the fact that I was watching the movie with my eyes wide as saucers. Even with a strong grasp of the film’s subject matter, it’s hard not to be totally blown away by what plays out on-screen, to become gape-mouthed in the face of so much (hyperbole aside) insanity.” … “An unbelievable true story told in an engaging and inventive manner.” It made our list of 10 Must-See Movies to see in July 2012. Check out the trailer, which we showcased here.

Indie Game: The Movie

Allison reviewed from Sundance: “follows three sets of video game creators (Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes, creators of Super Meat Boy; Phil Fish, creator of FEZ; and Jonathan Blow, creator of Braid) each at different points in their careers (and the games they are working on) to show not only the process of being an independent game creator, but what happens when you pour yourself into something that you eventually have to leave up to other people to determine its success.” … “Both video game fans and casual gamers should find this documentary not only interesting, but compelling as you watch these real life stories unfold and experience the various emotions that come with creating something from scratch and then releasing it into the world.”

Into the Abyss

Nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Score (Mark De Gli Antoni).

From Rob’s DVD picks: “Werner Herzog tells the story of a triple murder in Texas and the two young men behind it. One is interviewed just eight days before his execution, and the other is behind bars for another four decades, but the real story here is with the suffering their actions left behind. Herzog makes his stance on the death penalty clear, but he wisely moves beyond the issue by instead focusing on a culture of ignorance and poverty that breeds addiction and violence.” And Landon reviewed: “the filmmaker seems completely uninterested in using the medium to convince audiences of his point-of-view. Herzog instead lends his camera to the many individuals directly or tangentially involved in the crime that resulted in a triple homicide, victims’ families, the criminals’ family members and their attorneys, and employees of Texas execution chambers. For a filmmaker whose personality is so thoroughly present in his work, it’s fascinating to see Herzog largely relegate himself to the backseat as he mines through the experiences of others.”

Jiro Dreams of Sushi

Nominated for the Audience Choice Prize.

From Rob’s DVD picks: “Jiro Ono is an 85 year old sushi chef who runs a small restaurant in a Tokyo subway station, but don’t let the location fool you. It only seats 10, but reservations are required, it’s not cheap and it’s the only restaurant of its kind to receive Michelin’s 3-star rating. The doc examines Jiro’s techniques, his teaching style with his sons and apprentices and his outlook on life in general. It’s inspiring and mouthwatering in equal measure, and it will have you craving sushi by the midway point… and I’m a vegetarian.” And Dustin reviewed from Santa Barbara: “sits atop my viewing list thus far here at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. It’s beautiful, insightful, will absolutely make you hungry, and has a a depth and character that is undeniable. David Gelb has a winner.”

Kumare

Nominated for the Audience Choice Prize.

I wrote on this film from last year’s SXSW film fest at Cinematical: “Vikram Gandhi’s life-experiment doc is more Sacha Baron Cohen than Morgan Spurlock, but it lacks the laughs of either. Not that I’m sure Gandhi is aiming for comedy. In the film, which took home an Audience Award from SXSW, the U.S.-born filmmaker takes on the character Kumare, a long-haired, bearded guru from India who has gone to Arizona to teach people that they don’t need a guru, or any sort of religious leader. But the message is overlooked because these students begin to idolize the mystical stranger.” … “less revealing than you want it to be, and its message is rather simplistic, and Gandhi’s methods are certainly questionable, but I couldn’t walk away from it.”

The Law in These Parts

From our Sundance program announcement: “Israel’s 43-year military legal system in the Occupied Palestinian Territories unfolds through provocative interviews with the system’s architects and historical footage showing the enactment of these laws upon the Palestinian population.” I reviewed the film at Movies.com: “I have a great appreciation for the self-aware historicism driving The Law of These Parts, particularly because of how the interviewees respond to many of Alexandrowicz’s questions. They avoid certain analysis of whether decisions were right or wrong with even such far-reaching hindsight, making claims that such answers are for the historians or history to determine. As if that’s not one of the functions of this documentary. Others tell the filmmaker he’ll have to ask someone else about this or that, or they reject a reasonable line of questioning for being too theoretical. At times I wanted to laugh at the abstract absurdity of what the film was unraveling before me, but it’s not really a humorous matter at all.”

Marina Abramović: The Artist is Present

From our Sundance program announcement: “Marina Abramović prepares for a major retrospective of her work at The Museum of Modern Art in New York hoping to finally silence four decades of skeptics who proclaim: ‘But why is this art?’”

Now available on DVD.

Meanwhile in Mamelodi

From the Hot Docs program guide: “South Africa, 2010. How close can one be to the World Cup soccer celebrations without really being a part of it? In District 11, one of the poorest of Mamelodi—a former Blacks-only township near Pretoria where people still make do without paved roads, electricity or running water—Steven Mtsweni follows the competition on his blurry black-and-white TV as if watching a man land on the moon for the first time. Meanwhile, mere miles away, the rest of the world celebrates. This intimate and moving portrait of a man struggling to make ends meet while tending his kiosk and looking after his young son, teenaged daughter and mentally ill wife, reminds us that while life isn’t easy, there’s always a reason to keep hope.”

Currently playing AFI FEST. From our announcement of their program: “Best friends Garrison and Kevin are equally passionate about the gospel, their girlfriends and the half-pipe in this non-fiction look at teenage life in America.”

Paradise (Paraíso)

Nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Short Filmmaking (Nadav Kurtz).

Planet of Snail

Nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Direction (Seungjun Yi).

From our announcement of the Tribeca program: “Deaf and blind, Young-Chan lives in a quiet, isolated world in his small apartment. But when Soon-Ho, an empathetic woman compromised by a spinal disability, comes into his life, a unique love story begins. Poetic and gently paced, Planet of Snail brings to life the sensual world shared by this special couple, and illustrates that the greatest beauty can be found in the smallest and most unlikely love stories.”

Kevin reviewed at Sundance: “If you’re the sort of person who loves conspiracy theories, hidden meanings, codes, ciphers, clues, and other mysteries that bear unraveling, then Room 237 is right up your alley. DirectorRodney Ascher has put together a fascinating movie that will most likely change the way you watch Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining forever, or will at least make you search out some of the things that are discussed in this documentary.” And Brian reviewed less favorably at Fantastic Fest: “The most aggravating issue plaguing Room 237 is it’s amateurish editing. So much of a director’s job on a documentary is to carefully assess the accumulated footage and sound bites and arrange them in such a way as best serves the material. Apparently, no one bothered to tell Ascher. There are such blatantly boneheaded flubs with the connectivity of visuals or quality of audio, that it makes it difficult to take seriously, especially in light of the already flimsy arguments.

Opens in theaters in 2013.

Samsara

Nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography (Ron Fricke).

Cole showcased the trailer and wrote: “In 1982, Ron Fricke wrote, edited and directed photography for Koyaanisqatsi, a movie that’s become a modern experimental classic that sought to create a pure sensory experience beyond what narrative storytelling could do. It’s the kind of film that audiences have to yield to, letting it wash over them like color-wrapped sound waves, and it seems likely that Samsara will be artistically related to Fricke’s early work.” … ” the imagery! It’s amazing. The kind of stuff that steals your heart right out of your chest and makes you wish your whole body were made of eyeballs. See it and marvel.” Also check out a clip from the film here.

I declared it the first film of any kind to secure an Oscar nomination with its acclaim and popularity: “tells a kind of musical fairy tale about singer-songwriter Rodriguez, who was a huge star in South Africa and never knew of his fame there for decades, is astonishingly popular. I’ve seen long standing ovations at film fests for this doc. I’ve interviewed multiple filmmakers, many of which are Academy members, who cite it as their favorite of the year.” And Jeremy reviewed from SXSW: “a stupendous documentary, a bit heavy on the talking heads technique, but that’s a matter of personal tastes. You watch the story unfold, and you’re caught up in the music and politics of it all, all the while wanting nothing more than to watch this man perform live. There are so many documentaries and biopics about musicians we know, household names whose fame could easily be taken for granted. Searching for Sugar Man is about the other guys, those artists who never quite make it, and this one singer/songwriter in Detroit who became a legend and didn’t even know about it.”

Tchoupitoulas

Currently playing AFI FEST. From our program announcement: “This dreamlike documentary from the brothers Ross follows three young boys across the Mississippi into New Orleans’ French Quarter for a kaleidoscopic night of revelry.”

Opens in theaters December 7.

Trash Dance

Nominated for the Audience Choice Prize.

From our SXSW program announcement: “A choreographer finds beauty and grace in garbage trucks, and against the odds, rallies reluctant city trash collectors to perform an extraordinary dance spectacle. On an abandoned airport runway, two dozen sanitation workers — and their trucks — inspire an audience of thousands.”

Urbanized

From Rob’s DVD picks: “Gary Hustwit is interested in man-made shapes and designs. After examining typography (Helvetica) and manufactured goods (Objectified) he’s now turned his eye outwards and upwards to dissect the structure and design of our urban centers. From the angles, heights and front edifices of buildings to the layouts of streets, parks and other public spaces, Hustwit builds a fascinating look at the people behind the places we pass through everyday.” And Brian Kelley highlighted the film in a streaming showcase: “The film is neatly presented by dividing its time between different cities around the world and focusing on the successes and failures in their planning. From cities with roots in the 1100s to those as new as the 1980s, the pitfalls of planning and the deep connection to human psychology become increasingly apparent. It is a film, like the others in Hustwit’s trilogy, that will truly make you think different about your surroundings.” We also showcased the trailer here.

¡Vivan las Antipodas!

Nominated for Outstanding Achievements in Direction (Victor Kossakovsky), Production (Heino Deckert), Cinematography (Victor Kossakovsky) and Original Music Score (Alexander Popov).

I wrote on the film from True/False at the Doc Channel Blog: “a film that shows us things as they’ve never been seen before, and yet because it doesn’t have a narrative it may be thought of as inaccessible. Also, it’s not as blatantly thought-provoking. Regardless, I can’t get it out of my head. Probably because it blew my mind and has taken residency in the spaces it cleaned out.” … “this isn’t the stuff of IMAX and Disneynature. While the cinematography alone would be worthwhile by itself, it’s the clever juxtapositions and visual trickery achieved through editing and special effects that make this film so special. Kossakovsky plays with the idea of antipodes, giving us plenty of upside-down shots, reflective bodies of water, horizontal split-screens imaginatively presenting the world as having a literal top and bottom. And we’re shown paralleled views of life and land, what matters in the world and what matter makes up the world.”

Vol Special (Special Flight)

I wrote on the film at Movies.com: “observes a Swiss detention center for illegal migrants and asylum seekers who will eventually be shipped back to the countries they’ve fled. The real issue of the film doesn’t come up until the very end, as for the most part the men locked up are treated fairly well, for being prisoners, at this particular center. It’s what they face on the outside that’s to be feared, whether their fate back home in the Congo or Kosovo, or even before that with the abusive authorities who transport them on the “special flight” out of Switzerland. But there’s also a subtle, underlying evil of the neutrality and feigned sincerity and innocence on the part of the center’s staff which is thoroughly disturbing.”

The Waiting Room

I wrote on the film at Movies.com: “A look at one 24-hour period inside the waiting room and ER of a public hospital, specifically Oakland’s Highland Hospital. Using a composite of footage shot over many months, the film plays out mostly in an observational verite style akin to the work of Frederick Wiseman, except that there’s also voiceover from each of the uninsured subjects (patients or family of patients) providing additional exposition and some very on-the-nose commentary. Instead of being about the place, it’s about the people there, albeit people who were seemingly very intently picked out.” … “but most of the points here are familiar, obvious, repetitive and redundant, stressed too literally where simple, straight observation would suffice.”

Rather than a reject, Christopher Campbell is a film school dropout. But he has since gotten a master’s degree in cinema studies and has been blogging about movies since 2005. Earlier, he reviewed films for a zine (a what?) that you could buy at Tower Records (a what?). He is married with two children.

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